Over the weekend, during the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live, co-host Michael Che was joined by NBA Hall of Famer, icon, and friend of the Devil, the 6’11” Deadhead Bill Walton, as satirized by James Austin Johnson in all his tie-dyed glory.
During the segment Che looked (up)towards the faux-Walton for some insight on wether or not he felt LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were going to make the playoffs. However, the starry-eyed Grateful Dead icon seemed not to just have his head in the clouds but rather a bit higher and more in the cosmos as he stated, ““Michael, I am an athlete, I am an analyst, I am a spiritual nomad, I am a curious nymph in God’s astonishing garden.”
Despite the unrelated musings of Walton, Che continued to press the NBA star for his perceptions into the Lakers’ possible appearance in the play-offs, but his effort were in Vain as Walton seemingly started commentating on the play-by-play for a game of basketball happening in the future. Once he realized what was happening che asked, “Are you calling a game right now?” to which Walton responded, ““I’m not calling it right now. “My spirit guide, a headless Babylonian priestess, sends me flashes of what is, what was, and what shall be, so I’m calling a game that takes place next Wednesday. Oh! D-lo with the layup, and the lead is cut to six.”
As Che futility asked Walton about the L.A.’s teams prospects once more Walton’s vernacular journey and visions of the future combined as he said, “but its spirit has carried on—just like the Grateful Dead carried on when they brought in the ‘Noodler of Nations,’ John Mayer, a poet whose only colleagues are the planets themselves! Big dunk from LeBron! Throw it down!” The satirized Walton also joked about hanging out with the evenings guest Woody Harrelson, inviting viewers of the show to get excited for the second part of the evening.
Enjoy a brief history of Walton’s relationship with the Grateful Dead on Relix’s TikTok here.
Watch this past Saturday’s segment of “Weekend Update” featuring “Bill Walton” below.
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